Brochure rejected, concealed-carry gun bill clears committee

Wednesday

Jun 26, 2019 at 5:39 PM

A bill that would let Ohioans carry concealed deadly weapons without a permit moved one step closer today to a vote on the House floor.

The House Federalism Committee voted House Bill 178 out of committee Wednesday morning. The final tally fell along party lines, with the exception of Rep. Ryan Smith, R-Bidwell, who voted with three Democrats against the bill. The committee's other two Democrats were absent.

Smith cited the defeat of an amendment he supported last week as a big part of the reason he voted against the legislation. That amendment would have reinstated the "duty to inform," referring to the duty Ohioans have to let law enforcement know if they are licensed to carry and are carrying when stopped by law enforcement.

The bill, sponsored by Republican Reps. Ron Hood of Ashville and Tom Brinkman, of the Cincinnati area, would allow those 21 or older to carry a concealed weapon without a permit or training, provided that person isn't prohibited from doing so because of a felony conviction or other factors.

The committee approved an amendment, offered by Hood, that reversed the effect of an amendment from Rep. J. Kyle Koehler that the committee approved last week. The three present Democrats, along with Koehler and Smith, voted against the amendment, while Hood and five other Republicans voted in favor.

"Although the pamphlet sounds like a good idea," Hood said in the hearing, "one of the concerns that I have and that many members and many folks have expressed to me is that until we pass a Stand Your Ground law in the state of Ohio, there are many who could read that pamphlet, believe that they have to retreat and therefore get themselves killed."

The Koehler amendment, in an effort to combat the fact that the bill would effectively end the requirement for gun buyers to receive training, would require that federally licensed firearms dealers provide gun buyers with a one-page brochure that outlines Ohio's existing concealed carry laws.

Koehler told the committee that while he supports Stand Your Ground, he has to inform Ohioans of what the law says right now.

"I understand the issues with Stand Your Ground," Koehler said. "If folks don't like the law, then change it. I can't inform gun owners in the state of Ohio something that isn't the law, whether I agree with the law or not."

As a result of the controversy around the amendment, the bill now will go to another House committee rather than the House floor for a vote as it normally would.

The move occurred last week after a dispute over an amendment to the bill. House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, said the issue will be taken from the House Federalism Committee and assigned to the House Criminal Justice Committee for further review before an eventual House floor vote.

The group Ohio Gun Owners was cited as the impetus for Householder halting the process. It takes issue with Koehler's amendment, saying it would require gun buyers to be informed of their "duty to retreat" under Ohio law, meaning they cannot use their gun on a potential attacker unless they feel seriously in danger and have attempted to retreat from the attacker.

Householder said on his Facebook page last Wednesday evening that he had received many emails from Ohio Gun Owners urging him not to allow a vote on the amended measure because the brochure mandate “can get gun owners killed.”

“I take statements like that very seriously,” the speaker posted. “I have instructed my staff to draft an amendment to remove that amendment from the bill and have instructed the bill’s sponsors to go out and get the votes to clean this bill up.”

The bill has not been officially referred to the criminal justice committee.

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